The Syracuse Police Department has arrested a Syracuse University freshman for graffiti in support of campus protests. 

Kym McGowan, 18, of Syracuse, was arrested Wednesday on the charge of criminal mischief in the fourth degree and making graffiti, according to SPD. McGowan is listed in SU’s directory as a freshman in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. 

Both charges are misdemeanors, and McGowan was released on an appearance ticket. 

Four incidents of graffiti were found in and around the Irving Garage and Bird Library, according to the Department of Public Safety. Both SPD and DPS announced the arrest on Thursday morning.  

#NotAgainSU has occupied the Barnes Center for eight days in protest of the university’s response to hate crimes and bias-related incidents. Students have put up signs across campus to display solidarity, but this is the first announcement from police about graffiti made in support of the movement.

In the same email on Thursday, DPS announced four new bias-related incidents. 

Racist graffiti targeting black people was found on the fifth and sixth floors of Day Hall, and the Comstock Art facility was vandalized with racist graffiti directed toward Asian people. Derogatory language targeting Native American people was also found on a Post-It note on the first floor of Flint Hall. 

The recent public safety notice brings the total number racist and bias-related that have occurred on or near the Syracuse University campus in the past two weeks from at least 12 to 16. The hate and bias-related incidents, which have involved racist graffiti, racial slurs and swastikas, have targeted black, Asian and Jewish students. The Flint Hall incident was the first to explicitly target indigenous people. 

Published on November 21, 2019 at 12:46 pm

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu